Wednesday, 20 October 2010

O Bag for the Brompton

While in the Cycle Surgery bike shop on Tuesday I saw this pink O bag designed by Ortlieb for Brompton, price £169.00.

The O bag comes in pink & black and black. I usually like vivid colours and I like the shiny surface of this bag but I personally would opt for the black. This bag is designed to go on the front of your Brompton and I am not sure if I would feel comfortable with a big pink bag in this position. Matching the colour of your Brompton to this bag will be tricky for those who do not have a Black Brompton which would be a good contrast.

I liked that Ortlieb provided inner pockets and a key holder and importantly a light coloured contrasting lining so that you can find your stuff in what is a deep bag. It is waterproof. Ortlieb has a good reputation in providing waterproof bags.

I liked the option of the handle on the top as well as a shoulder strap. There were additional pockets that came with the bag that if you wished you could put on the back. Ortlieb has provided a shoulder strap pad which is handy given that this bag is not light. However if you are a stripped down to the basics Brompton user possibly on a titanium bike you are not likely to opt for this bulky bag.

If I was a first time buyer of a Brompton and I wasn’t too bothered about the weight I would consider getting the O Bag in black. The big draw back is the price. You would add another £200 to the cost of buying a Brompton. If money is tight, I would choose a cheaper bag. I love accessories but even I would not part with this much money for a bike bag that can really only be used on the Brompton unless I really really really loved it.

The key question is, does this bag work on and off the bike? When I think of the various things I do and places I go to, this bag would not fit in some of those areas. It is not a bag that I can use with my Trek bike either as I can with my Timbuk2 messenger bag. The all black O bag would work better for me on and off the bike. But I also like to wear my bag across my shoulder and this bag with the frame is not built for this.

Again it is the price of the bag that puts me off. I would consider buying one if it was around the £100 mark. I don’t mean to sound that this bag is not well made or strong. It is and appears to meet Ortleib’s usual high standards. It’s just I like variety in my bags and I swap them around on a regular basis so I would be unhappy to spend so much money on a bag that I am unlikely to use that often.

The O bag is an investment piece for a Brompton user who likes the attention (get it in Pink) and just wants to stick to one bag.

Bags galore. I have been looking at lots of bags this week and I will be uploading posts on my discoveries as soon as I can.

There is an alternative to the Ortlieb O bag and that's the CarraDry City Folder from Carradice at £69.95 http://bit.ly/9Twb9O Bikefix have the Carradice bags, along with the O bag and the other Brompton bags in their shop at 48 Lambs Conduit Street. They are the only dealer so far where I've seen all the bags available (that I'm aware of) for the Brompton on display.

I just bought the Ortlieb O-BAG even though I had set out to get Brompton's own S-BAG for my yellow S model. What made me spend the extra money? The quality of the Brompton bag versus the Ortlieb. Ortlieb's gear is tried and tested, well made and sturdy. Brompton's S-BAG had the feel of one of those £5 messenger bags you see at markets, all cheap velcro and thin cordura, so I felt better spending £180 on quality than £80 on rubbish. Just my opinion ...